Make a Wish Come True by Helping Animal Shelters

Animal shelters need more than just donations of cash to provide top-notch service for unwanted animals. Of course, monetary donations are welcome (and greatly appreciated!), but there are so many other things that can help shelters deliver care for the animals they help. Shelters need food, toys, crates, driving services, foster families, volunteers, and countless other bits and bobs that come up unexpectedly in the wild world of caring for a large number of animals, but often struggle to get the word out to would-be volunteers and donors.

To the (ahem) rescue? Shelter Wish List, a remarkably easy-to-use web application that rescue organizations and shelters can employ to help them get exactly the supplies, services, or support they need. The Shelter Wish List program allows shelters to create a completely customized web page that showcases their needs— from volunteer services to needed items—with images and text. Supporters can also contribute partial amounts to help the shelter purchase a bigger item, like an X-ray machine for animals with special medical needs, with the website tracking contributions, allowing each donor to see how their contribution is helping the shelter reach their goals. It’s like Kickstarter for animal shelter fundraising!

Another standout feature of the program is a classified ad service that allows supporters to post online ads for anything they like, pet-related or not, and then contribute all or a portion of the profit from the sale to the shelter. The program comes with Facebook integration options and a widget tool that can be easily embedded in other websites to display the most recent posts in a scrolling box. There’s also a “Pay it Forward” adoption option where a person who is unable to adopt a new animal can donate the cost of an adoption so that someone else can adopt a new friend for free.

Shelter Wish List gives rescue, adoption, and fostering organizations a full toolkit that can be used to dramatically increase donations. The service helps these organizations get exactly the supplies and services that will help them stay afloat and continue their good work. Pretty cool if you ask us. Learn more about the program at shelterwishlist.com!